St. Norbert Grinds to Sweep Over Lawrence

From Asst. AD/Athletics Communications, April 6, 2019 | Baseball
by Dan Lukes, dan.lukes@snc.edu, (920) 403-4077

APPLETON - St. Norbert College rallied from a big early deficit in the opening game and went on to post a Midwest Conference North Division sweep over Lawrence University by scores of 10-9 and 20-7 at Whiting Field.

In the opener, St. Norbert found itself on the wrong end of an 8-1 deficit after three innings. The Green Knights slowly climbed back into the game, getting two runs in the fourth inning on a two-run double from Ben Kohl. St. Norbert trailed 8-5 after two more runs in the sixth inning, with Kohl bringing home a run on a grounder and another scoring on a Griffin Jack single. The Green Knights tied the game with three runs in the seventh inning, with Jack Maastricht bringing in a run on a grounder, Kohl a run-scoring single and Jack a sacrifice fly.

Lawrence pushed ahead 9-8 on a solo home run by Nick Pastrone in the bottom of the seventh, but Peyton Jack's solo homer in the top of the eight retied the game. Sean Ferraro's two-out base hit through the left side in the top of the ninth inning to score Maastricht with the go-ahead run. Kohl came on to strikeout the side in the bottom of the ninth to nail down the save in closing out the victory.

St. Norbert had eight hits but took advantage of 14 walks and two hit batsmen, also leaving 16 runners on base. Kohl was 2-for-3 with four runs batted in, while Peyton Jack was 2-for-6. Maastricht was 1-for-4 but scored five runs.

Brad Szymusiak earned the win, allowing just one hit with no walks and three strikeouts in three innings of relief.

In the nightcap, St. Norbert scored in six of the eight innings to win handily. Maastricht scored an unearned run in the first inning, and the Green Knights added two runs on a Lawrence outfield error in the third inning for a 3-0 edge. Sean Ferraro scored on a wild pitch in the fourth inning.

The Green Knights broke open the game with a six-run fifth inning on just one hit. Michael Larsen and Isaac Gerhardt both drew bases-loaded walks, while Ferraro was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Lucas Reynolds had an RBI groundout, while Kohl added a sacrifice fly and Max Van Boxel posting an RBI single. St. Norbert added four runs in the sixth inning, with Reynolds stroking a two-run double followed by a Maastricht RBI single and another Kohl sacrifice fly.

Lawrence would get back into the game with a four-run sixth and a three-run seventh to get to within 14-7, but St. Norbert scored six runs in the eighth inning to put the game out of reach. Gerhardt scored on a wild pitch, followed by a two-run double from Peyton Jack. Griffin Jack added a run-scoring single and Ferraro a two-run single for the game's final runs.

Gerhardt was 3-for-5 with three runs scored for the Green Knights, who had 14 hits. Maastricht was 2-for-2 with two runs scored, while Reinhart and Griffin Jack had two hits apiece.

Mason Sefcik earned the win, allowing three hits with two walks and three strikeouts in five-plus innings pitched.